Three years and nearly $4.5 million after the Governor Wolf building was billed as the most cost-effective way to relieve crowding at the Northampton County Government Center, some officials are wondering whether an architect's study gave enough information to make a sound decision.

At issue is a 1986 report from Bonsall and Associates, Bethlehem, that said the structure could be bought and renovated for less than $2.5 million. But some work that pushed the bill much higher was overlooked or omitted.

County Executive Gerald E. Seyfried, who took office Jan. 2, said he was shocked to learn in the past two weeks that some of the work authorized under former County Executive Eugene R. Hartzell apparently was planned with an eye to building a multi-level parking deck and county administration building.

The construction was to be east of the Governor Wolf building on the 3.25-acre site in downtown Easton, Seyfried said. He said he was told of the plans by some of Hartzell's former cabinet members.

"Even when I was president of Council I never heard of this, and no one else has heard of this that I've talked to except certain department heads," Seyfried said. "It's time we take a look at this again and determine the long range growth of this county."

Richard T. Grucela, council president for the past three years, said he also never talked to Hartzell about a new administration building at the site.

Charles "Pete" Houck, director of fiscal affairs, and John Giesen, director of public works -- both holdovers from the Hartzell administration -- say there was general discussion of expansion at the Governor Wolf site, but no actual plan.

In any event, Seyfried directed last week that no more employees be transferred from the Government Center until it is determined how the stately building on N. 2nd Street fits into the county's future.

The Governor Wolf building was supposed to address needs into the next century without putting too much burden on the taxpayers. The story of how costs grew beyond the modest initial projection began in early 1986.

The county knew then that space would be needed very soon for more county judges. Office and storage space was tight at the Government Center, and then-Human Services Director Jerry Friedman was pushing an experimental project that required centrally located human services offices.

In May 1986, Bonsall and Associates was hired for $14,000 to examine four options deemed viable. A report delivered six months later convinced county council to vote 9-0 to buy the Governor Wolf building.

The options were:

- Adding about 50,000 square feet of office space and 84 more parking spots to the Government Center at an estimated $6.6 million. Adding a basement to that would have cost another estimated $850,000.

- A new, four-story office building planned by a private developer across the street from the Government Center, and parking for 100 more cars -- all at an estimated $7.2 million.

- Building a two-story office building with a basement and adequate parking at the Gracedale complex in Upper Nazareth Township for an estimated $4.3 million.

When the Bonsall report was delivered, Seyfried said he favored expanding the Government Center at S. 7th and Washington streets. He also wanted to build a human services center at Gracedale, the county home for the aged, and provide bus service to it through LANTA.

"When the previous administration looked at the issue, my initial reaction was that it would have been better to build at Gracedale," said Houck, who later became a proponent of the Governor Wolf building option.

"But when you consider that we had to keep a presence for the human service agencies here in Easton, that would not have solved the problem," he said.

Seyfried later agreed to back the Governor Wolf purchase, but the minutes of a county council meeting on Dec. 4, 1986, note that his decision was based "100 percent on the Bonsall study and the recommendation of the executive."

He further stated that, "If there is any doubt on the credibility of the study, it must be thrust back on the county executive."

Although quiet debate about the building continued inside county government during the intervening years, it wasn't until last fall's campaign for county executive that the issue was thrust into the forefront again.

Republican L. Jack Bradt, in an unsuccessful bid for office, called the project a "Taj Mahal." Seyfried remained silent on the issue.

* * *

A building survey by Reimer & Fischer Engineering Inc., Bethlehem, performed in October 1986 in conjunction with Bonsall's study, found that brick work on the entire Governor Wolf building "needs some attention and repairs of cracks."

But Bonsall Associates reported that Reimer & Fischer issued a "favorable report." Bonsall did not mention any exterior work.